Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 147891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
“Right. Right.” She blows a breath then tilts her phone, checking the time. “Well, let me know what you decide about Phil Patterson. If you go, I’ll go with you guys and just take some time off. I have to run errands with Abuelita today, so keep me posted.”
“Sure, but you don’t have to go with us if you don’t want to, Faye. This is a lot to take in.”
“Girl, shut up! I want to!” She puts on a big, dazzling smile. “Believe it or not, I find all of this Tether shit fascinating. I can’t believe it’s happening. I mean, I think I’m still wrapping my mind around it…and maybe I haven’t fully accepted that this world is so much bigger than any of us realize, but it’s interesting. If I ever get around to writing my memoir one day, or if all the universes decide to collide like some Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse level shit, I want people to know that I was one of the first to find out about the Tether and all this portal stuff.”
“Oh my gosh. You are a mess.” I huff a laugh and collect her in my arms again. “I’ll see you soon.”
She plants a quick kiss on my cheek and walks down the stairs, heading to the parking lot. When she’s out of sight, I turn for the door but as soon as I open it, I bump into something—or someone, rather.
Caz is on the other side of the door. He pulls it open wider to let me in, and I frown. “Oh my God. Were you eavesdropping?” I ask.
He raises a brow, face hardened. “Where do I find Garrett?”
My heart stutters over the next beat. “What?”
“That Garrett fucker. Where do I find him?”
“Caz—”
“You’re right. I was eavesdropping. Garrett put his hands on you again, and now he has the audacity to stalk you. I want to put an end to it. Now where do I find him?”
I don’t even have the words right now. How dare he listen in on our conversation? Where is the trust?
“Caz, this is not Vakeeli! You can’t just—”
“Willow, I swear on all of Vakeeli and every fucking universe out there, I will find him, whether you tell me or not.” I drop my eyes to his fists and their clenching. His knuckles are bone white beneath the thin skin.
I swallow the lump in my throat, staring into his eyes. He can’t possibly be serious right now. There are much bigger things to worry about, like Decius, our Tether, his family—even getting him back to his world. So much is at stake! We don’t need this.
I fold my arms across my chest. “I don’t know where to find him.”
“You’re lying.” He steps around me, grabbing his hoodie from the coat rack.
“Where are you going?” I demand.
“To find him.”
I scoff. “How are you gonna do that?”
“Where’s your cellphone?”
I feel the weight of it in my back pocket. “You’re not getting my phone.”
“Fine. I’ll find someone else’s and demand them to let me use it.” He’s stuffing his feet into his shoes now.
“Caz, you can’t be serious. First of all, that’s a really stupid plan! No one is just going to give you their phone, especially if you’re demanding them to.”
He cuts his eyes at me.
“Secondly, you’re not here to find Garrett. You’re here because you got a second chance at defeating Decius before he can get to us.”
“We will do that once I handle Garrett. Why the hell are you even protecting this fucker? He put his hands on you, Willow!”
“Look…okay, listen to me.” I grab his hands and squeeze them, forcing his attention on me. “If you get in trouble here, they will send you to jail, Caz. They’ll arrest you and lock you up, and you’ll never get to see your family again. Do you get that?”
“Oh, I get it. I just don’t care. They won’t catch me.” He pulls his grasp out of mine, moving across the room to collect his gun. He checks the chamber for the number of bullets, then closes it before tucking it into the waistband of his pants.
“Well, you should care because if you do something to him—like kill him—then they’ll come looking for me, Caz. They’ll ask me questions and interrogate me, and there’s a chance they’ll assume I did something to him.”
He pauses then, side-eyeing me. “Why would they come to you?”
“Because there are people who knew Garrett and I were a thing, and the last time I spoke to him, I was angry. There were people around to witness how angry I was who can prove we were in a heated disagreement. That’s just what the police do here, Caz. They dig and investigate until they find out what happened. And if you’re with me after he goes missing or they find his dead body, they’ll drag us both to jail.”